Alongside Dotcom, law enforcement officials swooped on a number of other senior members of Megaupload’s staff.

Arrests were made at a number of homes in Auckland, New Zealand, on warrants issued by US authorities.

In all, addresses in nine countries including the US were raided as part of massive international operation.

Three men accused alongside Dotcom remained on the run tonight, the Department of Justice said.

About $50m dollars in assets were seized as part of the massive operation.

Meanwhile, the Megaupload website was closed down, with the FBI seizing an additional 18 domain names associated with the alleged crime.

In response to the indictment, the hacker group Anonymous, which is ostensibly unaffiliated with Megaupload, launched a cyber attack that at least temporarily brought down the websites of the justice department as well as those of the Recording Industry Association of America, Motion Picture Association of America, and Universal Music.

If found guilty of the charges, the accused Megaupload executives could face 50 years behind bars.

Ira Rothken, an attorney for Megaupload, said the firm would fight the “erroneous” charges.

Speaking from his California office, Rothken said: “The allegations appear to be incorrect and the law does not support the charges.”

He added: “It is a civil case in disguise.”

Asked why it was being pursued as a criminal case, Rothken replied: “You’d have to ask the prosecutors.”